“It’s going to be okay,” Zeke said. “You’re a quick study. You’ll get this in no time.” He wanted to addDon’t lie to me again, but he had a feeling that Cal already knew that lying was counterproductive. Maybe he’d come to learn that there was no reason to lie in the valley, in spite of the fact that something in his past had taught him just the opposite. “Just ask along the way if you have questions.”
“Sure.”
This response of a single word hid so much, but Cal’s eyes were wide as he nodded, like he understood that what Zeke was saying was important. But also that he was worried there was a hidden agenda he’d yet to uncover.
“Let’s eat.”
Lunch was baked spaghetti lasagna, one of Zeke’s favorites. He kept a close eye on Cal, who was sitting across the table from him, to see if he was enjoying it, and he was.
Sitting at the other table were Galen and Bede, up to their usual antics, like two school kids seeing who could make the other one laugh first. Which made Zeke think of Galen’sconversation with him earlier that summer, and how Galen had wanted to go out with him.
Which always raised the question: just what had Galen seen in him to imagine that Zeke would be open to going out with another man? On a date with kisses and handholding and maybe more?
When he’d gone out with Betty Lou, she’d been sweet and feisty in bed, a pure pleasure, drawing him into being more adventurous and free with his body. But he couldn’t do any of that with another man. Could he? And why was he even thinking this way?
“How’s it going, Zeke?”
Zeke looked up at Gabe, his tray in his hands, Blaze close on his heels. He knew what Gabe was asking about, when the riding lessons for the parolees could resume.
Taking a quick glance at Cal, with an assuring nod, Zeke said, “It’s going good. We’re getting up to speed and those lessons should start later this week.”
“Excellent,” said Gabe. “We’re sure glad you’re here.”
“Glad to be here,” said Zeke, feeling a bit awkward because in spite of his own rule about not lying, he’d just done that to protect Cal. Still. Cal was looking at him, those blue eyes bright, a tidbit of a smile curling his mouth. A thank you, of sorts. And a silent,I’ll work hard, I promise.
Zeke knew he would, and the idea of it, of teaching this slender young man all the right ways, the good ways, to groom and ride and handle a horse, filled him with a sudden, intense bubble of pleasure. Such a change from the rough, dusty world of bronc riding, where the highs were short-lived, and the lows found you face down in the dirt.
Chapter 12
Cal
As Cal followed Zeke from the mess tent and along the path back to the paddock, he still could not believe he’d gotten off so easily.
When Zeke had said,You don’t know anything about horses, do you,Cal had been sure that his heart was going to leap out of his chest.
Whenever Preston had confronted him like that, the world had crashed in around him, and he usually staggered back from a blow or, at the very least, a verbal assault.
It had surely come to that when Zeke had said,You can tell me the truth. But unlike Preston, Zeke had not pressed his point, but merely had figured it out all on his own. Then he’d given Cal a second chance, which felt exactly like e was stepping from a swirl of dark dread into the sunlight.
Again, at lunch, Zeke had covered for him. Sure, he could have told Gabe the truth:Cal doesn’t know anything about horses. But he hadn’t.
And it didn’t look like he was going to hold it against Cal, either. Instead, he was going to teach Cal what he knew and, when the others were around, make like he’d known it all along.
All of which was a big fat lie. But it was a good lie for a good purpose. Right?
At the very least, it was a lucky break that Cal intended to take full advantage of. He was going to do right by Zeke, no matter what it took.
“We’re going to have a quick lesson,” said Zeke. “Nothing fancy, it’s just so I can take the measure of you.”
“Okay.”
“Go grab a bridle and I’ll pick out a mount.”
“Sure.”
Cal hustled into the small shed, where bridles and saddles were kept, along with buckets of grooming tools, and bags of feed and horse treats. The shed smelled like wood shavings and molasses, reminding Cal of a summer carnival, something he’d not been to in years.
He went up to Zeke, who had tied Dusty to the rail with a simple-looking knot. Zeke’s head was bent over Dusty’s mane, his fingers untwining long strands of coarse horse hair.
